The breeze was so cozy as winter was slowly approaching.
Little Lucy was sprawled on her bed, almost falling off. She was deep in her sleep as she had been exhausted from the tasks from the previous day.
She kept wandering away in the dreamland until.....
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
Her little cousin who was just twelve years old came banging her small door, almost ripping the poor thing off.
Lucy got up all drowsy, with her hair disheveled to open the door only to be poured water and insulted by the little boy.
"My mom wants you upstairs in five minutes, you slave!" he rudely said.
She simply closed her door and started getting herself ready for the day.
She was ready within the allocated time and got upstairs only to meet piles of clothes to take care of, unwashed plates, the whole house was in disarray.
Without wasting time she got to work and was done in four hours.
She quietly sneaked away after the straining chores to get fresh air at a park close to her house.
She jumped in excitement on reaching the park with the breeze brushing her hair on her face. She looked so angelic, despite her ordeal, she still managed to have a good skin.
She squealed in excitement, enjoying the atmosphere so much that she was not conscious of her environment. She continued to play away until she hit something hard.
She stopped to check what it was, only to see it was a richly dressed, breathtaking man who could pass for a man in his late thirties.
She was drooling over him until she heard his harsh voice, "is this how you go around drooling over men?" He angrily spat.
" Or is this the new method that is used? You just hit people to get attention and refuse to apologize??"
She was brought back to reality with those words.
"I...I...am so sorry, sir," she stammered as she tried to quickly apologize.
"I did not mean to bump into you." She added, looking at her legs.
"What a perfect lie." He scoffed before majestically walking away with an hefty, strange looking man.
"Is that his bodyguard?" She asked no one in particular, pointing her finger at the retreating figures.
"He sure looks rich," she smiled.
"You fool! You should be happy that you are not in some serious trouble for bumping into that man." She scolded herself, slightly hitting herself on the face.
"Snap out of it!" Her inner voice echoed.
" Ahh!" She yelled, her eyes widening in shock and horror as she checked her watch.
"You sure are going to be late." She told herself, running towards the gate to the park.
She headed straight for the parking ground, and quickly unbuckled her bicycle that has been carefully secured to a pole.
Lucy jumped on, and rode her bicycle which was a gift given to her by her late father. She raced down to the store where she works.
Unmounting the bicycle, she leaned it against a wall before she walked right into the store. On entering, someone jumped on her. It was Tia, her one and only friend.
"Hey, you little bug," Tia said, kissing Lucy's cheek.
Lucy smiled and rolled her eyes, "Language, Tia, you pest."
"Can we just get ready for the day instead of fooling around?" Lucy pouted.
"I knew you would say just that, you workaholic," she clicked her tongue.
" Good thing that there is more than enough time before the store fully opens," Tia danced.
"Perfect! That means more time to goof around," Tiara said, rushing at her friend.
A few hours later, at the counter, Lucy kept blabbering about the cute guy she had bumped into at the park.
"You really are going to bore me with stories of this mysterious man you bumped into," Tia complained, twitching her nose.
Lucy paid no attention to what her friend had said and instead, she looked at herself through the window that was made of glass.
"Tia, do you think that I am beautiful?" She questioned.
" What?" Surprised, she blurted out.
Why would you even ask me such a question??"
" Just answer the damn question, Tia," Lucy impatiently pressed.
" Of course. You are a cute, little thing." Tia responded.
"Is this about the grinning, rude cat you bumped into??"
"I mean, this is so strange. I have never seen you so excited or drool over a guy." Tia confessed.
Lucy defended herself, "Well, Tia people are subject to changes, you know? Besides it is just a crush and I am sure that it will fade in no time and I do not even think I am his type or if our paths would ever cross."
" We will see about that." Tia said, before turning to attend to the customer that approached her.
The duo kept attending to customers, and before they know it, their shift was over.
"This bicycle is so tiny for the both of us, and I have always told you that." Tia said.
"Let's just walk down the road," she suggested.
"How about we get some snacks at D'Angelo before going for our next shift? My stomach is literally growling," Lucy whined.
"Your miserable aunt did not think to give you food after all the stressful chores they made you do?" She angrily said.
" Sometimes, I wish I could deal with her on your behalf," she quietly said.
"Let's get going then, we don't want madam CJ deducting our pay just because we are a few minutes late," Tia said, dragging Lucy by the arm.
"Erm, how about we slow down missy?" Lucy said, running to keep up with Tia whilst struggling with her bicycle.
"Ohh, my bad," Tia said, suddenly remembering that there was a bicycle that was being pushed along. "I honestly forgot about the bicycle," She said, placing her hand on her chest to show her sincerity.
"Whatever," Lucy said, putting her hair behind her hair as she slowly pushed the bicycle as they walked.
"You rude brat!" Tia exclaimed.
"How about we shake off this extra load at D'Angelo's place?" Lucy suggested.
"A very brilliant idea, my friend," Tia said, raising her thumbs up.
"And here we are," She added.
"Good afternoon Tia and Lucy, our most prestigious and honorable customers," Troy, the guy on duty called as soon as he spotted them.
"Do you mind not being so loud and let us have our usuals?" Tia whispered while Lucy looked around wearing a fake smile.
"I have already packed your bags," Troy said, raising two brown paper bags with a huge smile on his cute face.
"Thank you," Lucy said, avoiding his face as she gave him cash.
"We are running late for work and we need to shed off the burden of Lucy's bicycle," Tia explained, making Lucy roll her eyes.
"Do you mind if we drop it off here?" Tia asked. "And I mean strapped next to yours?" She asked, playing with her fingers.
"Yeah, sure you can," Troy said, looking at Lucy.
"Thank you very much buddy, you are a lifesaver!" Tia commended as she handed the helmet to Troy.
"You can leave it here when your shift is over, and we are yet to come pick it," Lucy said smiling dryly.
"Yeah, sure." Troy replied, nodding his head.
"See you later," Lucy said, turning her back in an attempt to run off.
"Wait, pls!" Troy pleaded, making her stop in her tracks.
"I packed something extra for you," He said, handing her another paper bag with a huge smile plastered on his smooth and flawless skin.
"You do not have to, Troy," Lucy refused, trying to push his hand back.
"I am very sure this is going to be deducted from your paycheck and you do not earn much yourself," She added, trying to avoid looking into his eyes.
"Just take it, Lucy." He insisted, ruffling the bag into her hands.
"See it as a little treat from me to you since you guys do not have time to hangout with me or anyone else," He said, nudging his head towards Tia.
"Errr," Lucy nervously sounded.
"We are not entirely hopeless you know," She replied, looking at Tia who chatted away happily with Troy's shift-partner.
"I know you are not hopeless, Lucy." Troy said scratching the back of his head.
"I do not know how to express myself better but just take this as a little treat and I hope you really enjoy it cause it was prepared with extra care and love,"
"Come on, Troy." Lucy said, smiling whilst rolling her eyes.
"That is the exact thing you tell to everyone who comes to patronize D'Angelo," She said, preparing to turn towards the door.
"Thank you for the little treat, we will do well to enjoy it," She waved the paper bag behind her as she walked towards the door.
"It think it is time we leave, Tia. We do not want our paychecks to be reduced after so much nagging," Lucy whispered into her friend's ears.
"You are such a a spoiler, Lucy." Tia pouted as she walked towards Lucy.
"I wish we did not have to work today so I could hang around Fischer some more," Tia said, as they walked down the road.
"You know I do wish that we could really skip work but we both know how hard we have been working for a few years now just to save enough money to start our own lives afresh and I do not think it is right to pause that just for a few minutes of fun, " Lucy said, wrapping her hands around her friend's neck.
"I know, right, I just wanted to have little fun, you know?" Tia shrugged her shoulders.
"I want to have fun too but I think we have just more than enough fun than what is needed literally everyday." Lucy said, as they made to open the backdoor to a huge, expensive restaurant that stood at the heart of the city.
"You are so lucky you got in here in time ladies," Lillian said, taking off her apron.